Three Hours, One Cello, 70 Communities: Yo-Yo Ma’s Marathon Bach Performance and a Journey to the Future

The sold-out performance “We the People: Celebrating Our Shared Community,” at Symphony Hall was far from a conventional concert experience. On Nov. 21, Yo-Yo Ma offered a monumental gift to Boston and to himself: the complete six Bach cello suites, performed from memory, without intermission — a total of three hours of music shaped by reflections on humanity, community, and imagination. Having played this suite for 65 years on six different continents, Ma had never before performed them all in a single sitting. The evening’s significance extended beyond his artistic mastery; it was an act of communal gathering, contemplation, and hope. It showed an artist’s ability to share his vision of democracy and Commonwealth — both a dream and an action.

Part of “The Bach Project,” the event was hosted by the Celebrity Series of Boston, and livestreamed for free to libraries, theaters, and museums in more than 70 locations throughout Boston, Cambridge, and, more broadly, Massachusetts. As part of the concert, Celebrity Series and Yo-Yo Ma provided 1000 tickets to young musicians and other community members — many of whom were stepping into Symphony Hall for the first time.

Audience members were encouraged to arrive early to explore the “We the People” installation of photo murals and a 45-minute film featuring Ma answering questions from representatives of social justice organizations. After everyone was seated, before Ma entered the stage, there was a video recording of Ma explaining his vision. His voice echoed in Symphony Hall without a single empty seat full of anticipation. The message was poignant, personal, and powerful:

“I am now 70 years old. I have four grandchildren. My youngest grandchild will be 76 years old in the year 2100. She will experience a world I won’t see. I ask myself what the world will be like for her, and what part we will have played in creating it,” he wrote in a personal program note.

As the screen lifted, Ma took the center stage and began “Suite No. 1 in G Major” without saying a word. He described the evening as the happiest moment of his life — his 70th birthday present to himself, a long-held dream finally realized. He believes that music is the engine for imagination, and he invited everyone present to envision their communities in 2050 while listening to his playing. Later, he asked audience members to write down their vision and hopes for the community in 2050 in a small card to exchange with a stranger. Each card was a seed card meant to be planted, sprouting into wildflowers — symbols of perennial hope.

What was miraculous about Ma’s performance was that he not only performed, but also instructed the audience how to listen to Bach. Ma explained Bach’s compositional ambition: to evoke the illusion of polyphony through a single instrument. Ma suggested that this was an invitation for the listeners to activate their ears and memories and to connect between the musical lines in their imagination. Through this invitation, the audience’s role switched from passive listeners to active participants in the music-making itself. Ma’s interactive approach carried the listeners through three hours with both attentiveness and meaning.

Ma entered each suite with a new emotional landscape, inviting the audience to journey with him into Bach’s world. In the contemplative “Suite No. 2 in D minor,” Ma’s playing was introspective and tender, especially in the “Sarabande,” which offered a moment of quiet meditation. The hall brightened for “Suite No. 3 in C Major,” a jubilant celebration with warmth and playfulness. Just as the different characterization of Ma to each suite, the lighting in Symphony Hall darkened, brightened, adjusting to the mood of the music.

Before “Suite No.5 in C minor,” Ma dedicated the performance “to those who have suffered loss,” infusing the music with a touching humanity to connect, comfort, and heal. Without a pause, he moved into “Suite No. 6 in D Major,” the song’s radiant energy and vigorous spirit brought the cycle to an exultant close.

The audience was alerted to expect a special encore, and surprise indeed surpassed expectation: a collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma on the cello and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on the piano in Bach and Gounod’s “Ave Maria.” Bathed in golden light, Wu’s gentle, fluent accompaniment supported Ma’s warm, soaring lines, an experience that was both heartwarming and spirit-lifting. The performance felt like a treat for those who stayed until the end, enveloping the audience into a shared dream of a more hopeful future.

—Staff writer Dailan Xu can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @Dailansusie.